Uchiha Toru and Kakashi Really Were Popular

The boy in the lead lowered his head and looked at his palm.

He'd used the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist on a first-year kid.

And he hadn't landed a single hit.

The boy suddenly didn't dare attack anymore. A chill even crept down his back.

If the kid had wanted to fight back, he'd probably have been on the ground already.

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"Boss..." one of the boys beside him said cautiously. "Let's go."

"Yeah, let's go."

The boy stood there, looking at Shin-chan. His expression changed several times, but in the end, he lowered his hand.

"Tch."

He turned and walked away.

After a couple of steps, he looked back.

Shin-chan hadn't moved. He just stood there, watching him.

Meeting that gaze, the boy suddenly wondered: Who is this kid, anyway?

But he didn't dare ask.

He quickened his pace and left.

The others hurried after him.

"Boss, wait up!"

"That kid's seriously creepy..."

"Don't mess with him again."

Their voices gradually faded.

The hallway fell quiet.

The sunlight still slanted in, falling in patches across the floor.

Shin-chan scratched his head and said regretfully, "The game's already over? I just started playing."

Shota opened his mouth, unsure what to say. After a long while, he finally whispered, "Thank you."

Shin-chan waved a hand and turned toward the classroom. "If they come back to play next time, let me know. I still want to play."

Shota stood where he was, watching him walk away.

The sunlight shone on that red back, bright enough to sting his eyes.

Shota raised a hand and wiped his eyes, then followed.

They walked one after the other down the sunlit hallway.

Their footsteps sounded softly, then faded just as softly.

When Shin-chan returned to the classroom, he saw several girls gathered by the door.

They huddled together, whispering. Their expressions were both nervous and excited.

"Is this the one?"

"Yeah, this is the first-year Class A classroom."

"I watched the match yesterday. He was so cool."

Shin-chan walked past them and was about to go inside when a hand reached out to stop him.

"Excuse me, could you wait a moment?"

Shin-chan looked up and saw a girl with a ponytail looking down at him, her face a little red.

"What is it?"

The girl bit her lip and pulled a pink envelope from behind her back.

"Um... could you give this to Uchiha Toru for me?"

Shin-chan looked down at the envelope. In cute handwriting, it said, "To Uchiha Toru."

"This is..."

"Please." The girl clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. "Make sure you give it to him personally, okay?"

A few other girls gathered around.

"And mine, too."

"Please give him mine, too."

Shin-chan suddenly had three or four letters in his hands. Some had stickers on them. He looked at the pile, then up at the girls' expectant faces, and agreed.

"Okay."

He carried the letters two steps into the classroom, then stopped and looked back.

The girls were still standing there, watching him hopefully.

"Any more?"

The girls glanced at each other. Then two more came over and slipped their envelopes into his hands.

"Thanks!"

"Please!"

Shin-chan now had two more pink letters.

The classroom was noisy when he went in. Some students were chatting, while others were fooling around.

Uchiha Toru sat at his desk, looking rather bewildered.

His desk was piled with letters: pink ones, pale blue ones, some tied with ribbons.

Shin-chan walked over and placed the few letters in his hands on top of the pile.

Uchiha Toru looked up at him. "What are these?"

"Some girls at the door asked me to deliver them." Shin-chan pointed toward the classroom entrance.

Uchiha Toru stared at the few more letters on the pile, looking even more confused.

He was silent for a few seconds.

"What are these, anyway?" he asked.

Shin-chan tilted his head. "Love letters, I guess."

"Love letters?"

"Yeah. Letters from girls who like you."

Uchiha Toru's face turned bright red. He began to stammer. "Th-they like me?"

"Yeah."

Uchiha Toru lowered his head and stared at the pile of envelopes in front of him. His ears were so red they looked ready to bleed, and his voice grew quieter and quieter. "But I don't even know them."

Shin-chan sat down beside him. He looked at the letters, then at Uchiha Toru's expression, and said solemnly, "Love is hard to understand."

"What should I do?" Uchiha Toru had never encountered anything like this before, so he instinctively turned to Shin-chan for help.

"What do you mean, what should you do?"

"I mean..." Uchiha Toru pointed at the pile of letters. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

Shin-chan rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "Read them?"

"And then what?"

"Then?" Shin-chan scratched his head. "I don't know."

Uchiha Toru looked at him.

Shin-chan looked back at him.

They stared at each other.

"You've never gotten any?"

Shin-chan shook his head. "No."

"Really?" Uchiha Toru looked surprised.

Shin-chan thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "Kids are too much trouble. I only like pretty older girls."

Uchiha Toru opened his mouth, unsure what to say. After a long while, he finally reminded him quietly, "But we're both kids."

"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded. "That's why I'm not interested in kids."

Looking at Shin-chan's serious expression, Uchiha Toru suddenly didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Then why did you help them deliver the letters?"

"Helping is helping," Shin-chan said. "They asked me to help, so I did."

Uchiha Toru lowered his head and looked at the pile of letters again. He sighed softly. "So what am I supposed to do with these?"

By the time the after-school bell rang, the two of them still hadn't found an answer.

Shin-chan packed his schoolbag and walked over to Kakashi's desk.

Kakashi was packing up, too. A cardboard box full of letters sat by his feet.

Pink, pale blue, and white envelopes filled the box. Some had been folded into heart shapes, and others were tied with ribbons. They were stacked neatly, almost spilling over the top.

Shin-chan leaned closer to look. The letters were addressed "To Kakashi Hatake," and some had cute little drawings on them.

"Those are all love letters, right?"

"Yeah."

"That many?"

"Let's go." Kakashi picked up the box, his expression completely calm.

"Okay." Shin-chan followed him. After a couple of steps, he couldn't help glancing at the box again.

Kakashi said nothing.

They left the classroom, walked down the hallway, and went behind the teaching building.

Several large trash cans stood there.

Kakashi walked over and tipped the box into one.

The pink, blue, and white envelopes tumbled into the trash with a rustle. A few fell open, revealing neat handwriting inside.

Kakashi didn't even look at them. He folded the empty box and set it beside the trash can.

Then he turned around.

"You threw them away?" Shin-chan asked, scratching his head. "You're not going to read them?"

"They're pointless."

Kakashi didn't break his stride.

The girls who'd written those letters had only seen what he was like during the match. That was all that had inspired them to write those words.

Nothing more.